Russia selects new assault rifles

[In arduis fidelis]

because Americans targeted and killed talibans before they can target American soldiers in gun battle.

With canons like bushmaster and browning 50 cal on the support vehicles off course they can engage Taliban first and with great precision.But assault rifle to assault rifle M4 lacks the effective punch at extended ranges due to its 5.52 ammo unlike Ak which uses 7.62. Yes the newer assault rifles are far better then Ak.

 

[HariPrasad]

With canons like bushmaster and browning 50 cal on the support vehicles off course they can engage Taliban first and with great precision.But assault rifle to assault rifle M4 lacks the effective punch at extended ranges due to its 5.52 ammo unlike Ak which uses 7.62. Yes the newer assault rifles are far better then Ak.

AK bullet have a greater momentum (Because of higher mass because of 7.62MM round) But they do not fire flat and at a long distance like American guns. Basically 5.52 mm rounds are not made to kill people like 7.62 mm round but they are designed with a philosophy of inflicting casualty and not death.

 

[bdslph]

AKs the simply the best

 

[MilSpec]

AK Series suffers because of Short range and inaccurate firing. Lots of Talibans have fallen against American in Gunbattle because of AKS against Ameican rifle of higher range ind accurate firing.

That is not entirely true.
When AK, you say I will restrict the models to AKM (stamped AK47) and AK74 in 5.45mm.

AKM's selector switch has a safe, Auto and Semi fire mode. In the semi auto fire mode, with every squeeze of trigger, your have one discharge, same bullet drop, same barrel flexure for each round, and if your rifle is zeroed at say 100 yards (like I do) your bullet drop is 0". So every time you can aim at the same point you will roughly hit the same area at around 2-4 MoA depending on quality of AK build. That changes at Full auto if you plan to squeeze all 30 rounds at a go, your barrel flex, recoil, sight picture distortion, will make your rifle literally spray the rounds. If you manage to squeeze 2-4 round bursts, you will still be in within 10 Moa at full auto at 100 yards.
Now if you think AK's are inaccurate at full auto then FAL's and G3 will be even more surprising, I haven't come across a shooter who can keep a steady sight picture with a 7.62x51 nato charge blowing at 700rpm.

Talibunnnies falling against Americans: has little to do with AKM's and more to do with the design of the conflict.
US soldiers are not just using 5.56, In a squad you will have a 5.56 SAW, a 7.62x51 nato M240 MG, .50 cal Ma deuce MG, 50 cal barret, mk12 Mod0, m16/m4, .300 winmag. Thus covering them for, super long distance, long distance, medium distance, intermediates, and short distances. Apart from that US rifleman is trained from day one for accuracy. every shooter has state of the art sights and optics, all shooters have good cheek weld, great quality buttstock and comb for cheek weld.

AKM too were not designed to function as a single ak unit, the were designed to provide cover and intermediate range solutions, as a mixed unit of either AKM/RPK or AK-74/RPK-74 backed with
1 7.62x54R SVD as a Squad Support Rifle (sounds unlikely for a Semi auto), but it's function was to provide rapid supression at long range as well as a DMR role;
2. 7.62 x 54R PKM GPMG, for rapid Long range suppression,
3.Specialized NSV 12.5 x 108 mm units (select units)

But most Taliban combat units are using, AKM, with PKM support, apart from that, most (not all) taliban fighters shoot from the hip, good example would be to see some videos on Youtube, Combat units that belonged to GH, had afghan army trained defectors, and were adequately trained. Those units and their successors are one of the most vicious units that US has to face, you will see them employing good short range strategies employing AKM/RPK/PKM field units, but most of the other units are just cannon fodder.

The same AKM's and its Sibling in the same same caliber SKS, did extremely well in Vietnam, because of the terrain and engagement ranges.

now coming to AK74, 5.45 is as flat shooting cartridge as the 5.56 is, When I shot the 5.45 I was not very impressed, with the rifles reaction at first, but down range accuracy shooting opensight is evident. Also barrel flex is lower, bolt carrier group mass is lower, reciprocating offset is lower too, making AK74 a more stable and accurate delivery platform.

AKM ranges around 200-250 yards effective, 400 yards max. (bullet though will travel much farther)
AK-74 ranges around 300 effective, 500 yards max (bullet though will travel much farther)

So range is not an issue, they were designed for this range, next is accuracy, these were never designed to be 1/Moa or 1 Moa shooting rifles, these are ample accurate for what they were designed for.

 

[Echo_419]

Russia has selected the AK-12 (pictured) and the AK-103-4 as the new service rifles for the Ratnik soldier modernisation programme. Source: Izhlife

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has selected two assault rifles manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern as new standard issue firearms for the Russian Ratnik soldier modernisation programme.

"We have already made a deal and selected assault rifles from Izhmash. It won in cost to effectiveness terms. The quality is also acceptable for us," Deputy Minister of Defence Yuriy Borisov stated on Russian radio on 24 January.

Borisov stated that two assault rifles manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern were selected by the Armed Forces: the AK-12, chambered in 5.45x39 mm, and the 7.62x39 mm AK-103-4.

"We also increase the number of ordered Ratnik systems from 50,000 to 70,000", Borisov added.

According to Borisov, the AK-12 is quite similar to its predecessor, the AK-74M, and has some common parts. The Russian army is expecting the price of the AK-12 will be 25% more than the AK-74M.

The AK-12 is a fifth generation AK-pattern rifle, featuring several ergonomic improvements, a bolt catch, accessory rails, and a telescopic buttstock. The AK-12 is also has a lower recoil impulse than the AK-74M. Design work on the AK-12 began in August 2011 with the first prototype unveiled on 24 January 2012. The rifle is fed from 30 round AK-74 box magazines, but 60 and 95 rounds magazines are also available.

The 7.62 mm chambered AK-103-4 is the newest revision of the AK-47. It is also equipped with a Picatinny rail, telescopic folding buttstock and effective muzzle device.

The AK-12 is set to be used by only the elite Russian units equipped with Ratnik system. The remainder of the Army is expected to use an upgraded AK-74M, developed by Kalashnikov under military requirements and was shown for the first time at the Oboronexpo fair in August 2014.

Meanwhile, a carbine variant of the AK-12, chambered in 7.62 mm, was selected by the Russian Federal Protective Service (FSO) to replace its current AKS-74U and AK-104 carbines and AK-103 rifles.

The Ratnik soldier modernisation programme is designed to provide the effectiveness soldiers on the battlefield. The system consists of 50 components, including small arms, sights, ballistic protection, as well as communication and navigation devices.

The Russian Army tested four assault rifles to be part of the Ratnik system, two chambered in 5.45x39 mm and two in the 7.62x39 mm cartridge: the AK-12 and AK-103-4 rifles designed by the Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izmash), and the A-545 and A-762 rifles from the Degtyarev Plant. The latter are updated variants of the AEK-971/973 rifles designed in early 1980s for the AK-74M replacement programme, but which lost to the Nikonov AN-94 rifle (which was never adopted in large numbers).

In December 2014, the Russian MoD announced that all the rifles had passed the trial programme.

COMMENT
The selection of the Kalashnikov Concern rifles is surprising as previous information suggested that the Russian Army preferred the A-545 over the AK-12. The A-545 was recognised as a truly modern rifle design, which as a result of its counter-balanced recoil system was said to offer a 10-15% reduction in recoil compared to the AK-12.

Indeed, the AK-12 was not originally accepted for the state trials in 2012. The army subsequently allowed the rifle to be tested under political pressure, albeit at the expense of the manufacturer - the testing of the A-545 and A-762 were funded by the military.

One reason cited for the selection of the AK-12 was the existing manufacturing capability of Kalashnikov Concern, while the Degtyarev Plant would have had to build a new production line from scratch. As a result Izhevsk won the programme on the basis of a lower production cost.

Winning the prize of this large-scale contract, the Kalashnikov Concern should help the firm to survive any US and EU sanctions, as well as assist the firm in exporting its new generation AK-pattern rifles.

Russia selects new assault rifles - IHS Jane's 360

A good choice by pur Russian friends